Friday, 10 December 2010

The procession

Montée des DomsFestival of lights, 8th December. Since 1648 a catholic procession takes place on that day. Devoted to Virgin Mary it starts with a short mass in St Peters church (église St Pierre) at 6:00 p.m. after which everyone walks up the streets with a candle in hand to Notre Dame des doms cathedral, singing hymns. The church was packed and the procession full of children. Along the stone ledge a line of candles has been lit to lead the way up to the cathedral. The golden facade in the background is the Petit Palais'.

A young girl offers her candle to devotees who need to light up their blown out candles before entering the cathedral. Despite its poor quality I like this image for its close similarity to Georges de la Tour's painting "the new born" .

After six years in Australia and five years of city life in Avignon I moved to the countryside near the small village of Beaumes-de-Venise. Once dedicated to street photography my blog has since taken a more rural note but the beautiful region of Provence is an constant source of inspiration.